Pan. 

W.  Indies 


Anderson,  Rm^as 


Remarks  on  the  island  of  Cuba 


I 


ON  THE 


f 


1SL 


AND  OF  CUBA. 


From  the  Missionary  Herald ,  published  in  Boston,  Mass,  by  the 
American  Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions. 


The  following-  notices  respecting  the  island  of  Cnba,  are  furnished  bj'  a 
gentleman,  who,  for  the  benefit  of  his  health,  spent  some  part  of  the  last 
winter  and  spring  on  that  island.  They  take  their  particular  character  from 
the  fact,  that  the  writer  spent  most  of  his  time  travelling  in  the  interior, 
and  was  chiefly  conversant  with  planters  and  rural  scenery.  The  statements 
may,  it  is  thought,  be  relied  on  as  correct;  and  they  are  as  full,  as  time,  and 
circumstances,  and  a  due  regard  to  health,  would  permit  them  to  be. — As 
Cuba  has  not  hitherto  been  well  known  to  the  people  of  this  country,  and  as 
it  is  increasing  in  interest,  both  to  the  merchant  and  to  the  Christian,  the 
belief  is  entertained,  that  many  would  be  pleased  to  see  such  sketches  as 
the  following.  Should  there  be  some  erroneous  statements  of  facts,  which 
is  certainly  very  possible,  the  reader  will  easily  find  an  apology,  in  the  dif¬ 
ficulty  of  being  well  informed  on  all  the  subjects  contained  in  this  paper, 
even  after  a  much  longer  residence  in  any  place,  than  the  writer  enjoyed 
on  that  island. 


Preliminary  Remarks. — Cuba  bad  the 
honor  of  being  discovered  by  Columbus,  on 
the  -8th  ot  October,  1492.  It  was  supposed 
to  be  apart  of  a  great  continent  till  1508, 
when  it  was  circumnavigated  by  an  officer 
named  Obando.  In  1511,  Don  Jago  Valas- 
quez,  with  a  force  of  300  men,  conquered 
and  colonized  it  He  first  built  St.  Jago  de 
Cuba,  on  the  south-eastern  part  of  the  island, 
and  afterwards  the  Havana,  on  the  north¬ 
west.  This  latter  city  is  now  the  capital. 

The  island  extends  from  73°  50'  to  85°  30' 
W.  Longitude,  making  a  difference  of  longi¬ 
tude  of  11°  40/  or  about  700  English  miles 
The  body  of  the  island  being,  however,  curv¬ 
ed,  and  not  laying  exactly  east  and  west,  a 
line  passing  through  the  middle  of  it,  from 
one  entl  to  the  other,  would  probably  exceed 
800  miles  in  length.  The  medium  breadth 
of  the  island  is  estimated  at  75  miles,  so  that 
its  superficial  contents  can  fall  little  short  of 
GO, 000  square  miles — an  area  larger  than  that 
of  England  and  Wales.  Its  greatest  Latitude 
is  23Q  20',  and  its  least  19°  4o'  N.  Of  course 
it  falls  just  within  the  northern  limit  of  the 
torrid  zone. 

The  Gulf  Stream  separates  the  island  from 
Florida  on  the  north;  and  the  Old  Bahama 
Channel  divides  it  from  the  Great  Bank  of 
the  same  name,  and  numerous  small  islands, 
on  the  north-east.  Its  eastern  point  ap¬ 
proaches  near  to  the  western  extremity  of 
Hayti.  Jamaica  is  not  far  from  its  most 
southern  limits.  South-west  is  the  Carib¬ 
bean  Sea.  And  on  the  west  and  north-west 
is  the  the  Gulf  of  .Mexico. 

The  position  of  this  island  is  such,  that, 
awing  to  the  influence  of  the  Trade  Winds 
and  of  the  Gulf  Stream,  the  vast  amount  of 


produce,  which  comes  annually  down  the 
Mississippi,  and  from  all  the  shores  of  the 
Mexican  Gulf,  passes  of  necessity  almost 
within  sight  of  the  Havana,  before  it  can 
come  into  the  Atlantic.  The  commercial 
importance  of  the  island  may,  then,  easily  be 
seen.  It  is  great  at  present.  But  when,  in 
the  lapse  of  ages,  the  tide  of  population  from 
the  east  and  south  shall  meet  in  now  unex¬ 
plored  regions,  and  agriculture  shall  pour 
forth  its  golden  treasures  from  the  Missis¬ 
sippi  to  the  Bio  del  Norte  and  the  lloeky 
Mountains,  then  the  importance  of  this 
island  must  become  immeasurably  great. 

appearance  of  the  country. — The  coast  be¬ 
tween  the  Havana  and  .Vlantanzas — a  distance 
of  about  70  miles  —has  a  barren  aspect,  ex¬ 
hibiting  spots  of  rich  vegetation  only  here  and 
there.  In  some  places  it  is  covered  with  a 
stnnted  brushwood;  and  almost  uniformly  is 
elevated  enough  to  conceal  from  those,  who 
sail  along  the  shore,  every  thing  beyond,  ex¬ 
cept  the  summits  of  mountains  in  the  inte¬ 
rior.  But  there  are  a  few  openings,  through 
which  the  delighted  beholder  looks  up  into 
regions  of  perpetual  verdure.  1  have  reason 
to  suppose  that  this  general  description  will 
apply  to  the  whole  northern  coast.  The 
southern  is  said  to  be  less  elevated,  and  more 
j  fertile. 

Almost  the  whole  surface  of  the  interior 
I  is  pleasantly  diversified  with  hills  and  vallies, 

-  plains  and  mountains.  The  vallies  are  usu- 
I  ally  narrow,  and  often  deep;  and  the  plains 
level,  and  sometimes  extensive.  The  moun¬ 
tains  are  generally  abrupt,  and  never  rise  to 
a  great  height.  A  ridge  passes  through  the 
middle  of  the  island  from  E.  to  W„  though 


o 


Remarks  on  the  Island  of  Cu'ba. 


with  some  interruptions.  Once  in  particular 
it  yields,  for  the  space  of  60  miles,  to  a  plain,  j 
which  is  said  to  stretch  across  the  island  Over 
some  part  of  this  vast  plain  1  travelled.  It 
is  level  as  the  ocean,  and  possesses  a  rich  soil: 
but  only  a  small  portion  ol  it  is  yet  brought 
under  cultivation. 

The  finest  scenery  is  found  among  the 
mountains.  Even  where  the  improving  hand 
of  man  has  never  been  applied;  where  the 
wilderness,  through  which  the  savage  roamed, 
still  remains;  and  only  a  narrow,  winding 
footpath  guides  the  traveller; — the  eye  is  con¬ 
tinually  delighted  with  rich  and  romantic 
views.  The  forest  teems  with  vegetable  life,  j 
so  as  to  be  almost  impervious.  The  tall,  ; 
crowded  trees  are  tied  together  by  festoons  j 
of  numberless  creepers,  which  ascend  from  ' 
branch  to  branch,  till  they  overlook  the  wood,  : 
and  rejoice  in  the  clear  sunshine. 

Sometimes  the  traveller  descends  into  a  ! 
deep  ravine,  and  there,  beneath  the  everlast-  j 
ing  shade  of  lofty,  woody  declivities,  finds  the 
rocky  bed  of  some  dried  up  torrent.  Some¬ 
times  he  rises  imperceptibly  upon  elevated 
land,  till  he  looks  abroad  over  an  area  of  large 
extent,  embracing  plains,  of  various  elevations 
above  the  sea — abrupt  cones,  apparently  of 
volcanic  origin — irregular,  precipitous  ridges — 
and  occasionally  a  part  of  the  ocean.  Some¬ 
times  he  emerges  suddenly  from  a  beautiful  wil¬ 
derness  of  vegetation  into  an  open  heath, 
where  the  eye  ranges  unobstructed  over  i 
thousands  of  acres,  and  where  nothing  grows 
but  a  dwarfish  species  of  palm,  and  an  almost 
worthless  grass.  Here  the  rocks  assume  a 
darker  aspect,  and  seem  to  have  changed 
their  nature. 

But  there  is  no  scenery  which  the  art  and 
industry  of  man  cannot  improve;  and  art  and 
industry  have  done  much  in  many  parts  of 
this  island.  In  vain  do  1  strive  to  give  to  one, 
who  has  never  visited  a  tropical  climate,  a 
correct  conception  of  the  appearance  of  a 
landscape  there,  when  dressed  up  and  adorned 
by  a  tasteful  agriculture.  Many  of  the  plants, 
shrubs  and  trees,  which  in  this  country  form 
articles  of  choicest  luxury,  are  there  indigen¬ 
ous,  and  are  among  the  common  productions 
of  the  soil.  And  these,  when  flourishing  in 
their  native  earth,  and  under  the  free  rays  of 
a  sun  duly  proximate,  exhibit  a  deeper  and 
livelier  hue,  and  a  greater  luxuriance  of  fo- 
l.age  and  growth.  Even  when  standing  insu¬ 
lated  and  alone,  how  lovely  do  many  ot  these 
plants,  shrubs  and  trees  appear  to  a  north¬ 
ern  eye!  But  when  brought  together  by  hun¬ 
dreds,  or  thousands — when  arranged  by  the 
pu  rest  taste  and  most  practised  eye — when 
spreail  abroad  over  an  extended  plain — w  hen 
loaded  with  fruit,  useful,  various,  and  abun¬ 
dant — and  especially,  when  one  is  standing  in 
the  midst  of  all  this  vast  and  beautiful  gar¬ 
den,  traversing  avenues,  neat,  broad,  straight, 
crossing  each  other  at  frequent  intervals  and 
at  right  angles:— then,  I  had  almost  said, 
there  is  something  before  the  mind,  which 
nature  unaided  never  equals. 

Still  there  are  parts  of  the  island,  espe¬ 
cially  large  tracts  of  cleared,  uneven  country 
devoted  chiefly  to  pasturage,  which  recalled 
New  England  to  my  mind.  The  palms,  in¬ 
deed,  which  grow  every  where,  with  their 


straight,  naked  trunks,  and  tufted  tops 
waving  high  in  the  air,  suggested  nothing 
analogous  io  themselves;  but,  these  apart, 
there  was  much  in  that  pastoral  scenery, 
which  resembled  scenery  rendered  dear  by 
long  acquaintance  and  a  thousand  pleasant 
associations. 

On  the  whole,  I  must  regard  Cuba  as  a 
magnificent  island.  The  features  of  it  are 
by  no  means  so  majestic  as  are  those  of  the 
Mexican  table  lauds:  but  almost  every 
wher«  is  to  be  seen  splendid  variety,  and 
inexhaustible  richness. 

Soil. — Enough  has  been  said,  to  convey 
the  idea,  that  the  soil  of  Cuba  is  immensely 
productive.  The  mountains,  indeed,  have 
usually  a  thin  soil.  I  he  torrents  of  the  rainy 
season  have  in  man)  places  left  little  but  a 
mass  of  lime-stone.  There  are,  also,  many 
parts  where  there  is  hardly  a  sufficient  depth 
ot  earth  to  preserve  vigorous  Ide  iu  plants, 
during  the  dry  season:  and  I  have  already 
remarked,  that,  along  the  the  margin  of  the 
northern  shore,  the  soil  is  not  generally  pro¬ 
ductive.  But  after  every  abatement,  it  is 
the  fact,  that  a  very  large  proportion  of  the 
island — perhaps  five  parts  out  of  six — is  ex¬ 
cellent  for  tillage.  This  is  emphatically  true  of 
the  numerous,  and  often  very  extended 
plains;  upon  which  the  more  valuable  plan¬ 
tations  of  sugar,  coffee  and  tobacco,  are  chiefly 
situated.  On  these  plains  there  is  generally 
a  deep,  warm,  mellow  soil.  One  would  think 
that  they  had  been,  in  some  former  period, 
covered  with  water,  and  that  the  water  had 
passed  off  through  openings  between  the  hills, 
gradually  or  suddenly  formed;  and  perhaps, 
too,  by  subterranean  passages  to  the  sea,  pro¬ 
duced  by  somegreat  natural  convulsion.  There 
are,  at  present,  in  almost  every  plain,  crev¬ 
ices  in  the  rock  that  lies  beneath  the  surface, 
called  sumideros ,  of  unknown  depth,  and 
leading  no  one  knows  whither,  which  absorb 
vast  quantities  of  water.  The  soil  on  these 
plains  is  sometimes  4u  feet  deep,  and  is  the 
same  in  its  nature  quite  down  to  its  rocky 
bed.  More  generally  it  is  from  three  to  four 
feet  in  depth,  and  rests  on  limestone,  or  a 
hardened  body  of  clay. 

The  soil  is  of  various  kinds.  The  first 
which  l  notice  is  the  most  common,  at  least 
in  the  parts  of  the  island  which  I  visited.  It 
seems  to  be  a  mixture  of  clay  and  sand,  color¬ 
ed  by  an  oxide  of  iron.  Its  color  generally 
approaches  near  a  scarlet  red,  and  if  wetted 
it  gives  a  deep  stain.  I  have  seen  it  used  as 
the  base  of  a  paint  for  the  doors,  windows  and 
wainscots  of  respectable  houses.  Beneath  the 
surface,  it  has  a  degree  of  moisture  and  cohe¬ 
sion.  This  is  the  soil  preferred  for  coffee. 

A  deep  black  mould  is  also  very  com¬ 
mon.  Where  there  is  much  depth,  the 
growth  upon  it  is  rapid  and  luxuriant;  and  as 
it  retains  moisture  belter  than  the  red,  it  is 
more  esteemed  for  the  sugar  cane.  1  Ls  color 
in  some  places  inclines  to  grey,  hut  without 
any  apparent  diminution  ol  its  richness.  The 
relative  positions  of  the  red  and  black  struck 
me  sometimes  as  a  singular  phenomenon. 
Generally  the  dividing  line  is  distinct,  and 
the  transition  from  one  to  the  other  sudden. 
When  crossing  the  mountains  of  Madruga, 


Remarks  on  the  Island  of  Cuba.  8 


called  by  sailors,  to  whom  they  are  a  land 
mark,  “the  Iron  Hills,’  1  observed  the  line 
of  division  running  along  the  summit  of  the 
ridge  from  west  to  east:  on  the  north  was  the 
red  soil,  and  on  the  south  the  black.  1  also 
remarked  the  same  on  two  or  three  other 
ridges,  of  different  heights,  in  other  patts  of 
the  island.  Often  veins  of  black  traverse  the 
red,  in  various  directions,  across  the  plains. 

Another  kind  ot  soil  is  composed  of  mix¬ 
tures,  in  different  degrees,  of  red  and  black, 
and  is  there  denominated  mulutto  soil.  Lying 
on  a  btd  of  clay — which  forms  another  class 
— it  needs  much  draining;  and  when  properly 
attended  to  in  this  respect,  it  is  highly  pro¬ 
ductive.  1  saw  the  clay  in  considerable  puri¬ 
ty,  only  beneath  this  species  of  earth. 

There  are  ot  er  varieties;  but  they  fell 
not  particularly  within  my  observation,  and 
do  not,  1  believe,  extend  over  large  tracts  of 
land. 

Cultivation. — The  soil  is  capable  of  bring¬ 
ing  to  perfection  a  great  variety  of  useful 
fruits,  of  which  a  few  only  can  be  specified: 
— Two  and  sometimes  three  crops  of  excel¬ 
lent  maize  are  raised  in  a  year  Without 
trouble  the  finest  rice  is  produced  on  the 
black  and  mulatto  earths,  during  the  rains. 
I  was  told  that  wheat  and  oats  would  flourish. 
Planta'wis,  bananas,  yams,  and  sweet  potatoes, 
grow  in  great  abundance.  Cabbages,  lettuce, 
carrots,  turnips,  various  kinds  of  beans, 
green  peas,  asparagus,  and  numerous  other 
esculent  vegetables,  may  easily  be  furnished 
for  the  table.  A  magnificent  dessert  may  be 
formed  of  the  pine-apple,  orange,  guava,  avo¬ 
cado-pear,  mango,  tamarind,  grape,  melon, 
pomegranate,  and  other  fruits  too  numerous 
to  mention; — some  of  which  are  indigenous 
to  the  island,  and  all  are  adapted  to  its  climate. 
Cotton  is  a  native  of  the  island,  and  of  a  supe¬ 
rior  quality;  but  it  has  not  been  found  pro¬ 
ductive.  The  great  objects  of  the  planters, 
however,  are  sugar,  coffee  and  tobacco. 

But  a  small  portion  of  the  island  is  yet 
brought  under  cultivation.  Perhaps  little 
more  than  a  sixth  part  of  it,  is  improved  in 
any  way.  The  jurisdiction  of  Havana,  which 
extends  over  the  western  part  of  the  island, 
contains  about  35,000  square  miles,  or 
22,000,000  of  acres.  From  the  “ Guia  de 
Forasteros  de  lsla  de  Cuba ,”  for  1 824,  1 
have  ascertained  the  number  of  sugar,  coffee 
and  tobacco  plantations,  and  also  the  number 
of  small  farms  and  herbaries,  within  this  ju¬ 
risdiction.  The  average  number  of  acres  as¬ 
signed  to  each,  in  the  following  table,  is  con¬ 
jectured,  but  the  number  assumed  is  thought 
to  be  large.  The  results  go  far  to  substantiate 
the  assertion  made  above. 


No. 

Ac.  in  ea.  Acrs. 

Sugar  Plantations, 

625 

400 

250,000 

Coffee  Plantations, 

779 

400 

311,600 

Tobacco  Plantations, 

1,601 

200 

320,000 

Small  Farms,  (Sitios  tie  labor,)  9,821 

40 

392,840 

Herbaries, 

183 

10 

1,830 

Land  under  cultivation, 

1,276,270 

To  this  add, 

Grazing-  Estates, 

1.762 

1,000 

1,762,000 

Pastures,  (Potreros,) 

1,193 

300 

357,900 

AU  that  is  improved, 

3,396,170 

There  seem,  therefore,  to  be  at  least 
18,000,000  of  acres  of  unimproved  land  within 
the  jurisdiction  of  Havana.  The  jurisdic¬ 
tion  of  St.  Jago  de  Cuba,  which  includes  the 
eastern  part  of  the  island,  contains  not  less 
than  1 6,00(1,000  of  acres,  ol  which  probably 
a  twentieth  part  only  is  improved.  Thirty- 
three  millions  of  acres  on  this  island  are  then 
unimproved!  And  yet  more  than  25,000,000 
of  acres  must  be  regarded  as  arable  land; 
much  of  it  exceedingly  rich;  and  all  lying,  as 
1  shall  by  and  bye  remark  more  fully,  in  one 
of  the  fini  st  of  climates, 

Sugar,  coffee  and  tobacco  being  the  chief 
productions,  and  forming  the  principal  ex¬ 
ports  of  the  island,  l  may  be  expected  to  de¬ 
scribe  britfly  the  mode  of  their  cultivation. 
Respecting  the  last,  however,  1  shall  say  noth¬ 
ing,  as  it  fell  only  partially  within  my  notice, 
being  raised  chiefly  in  the  parts  of  t lie  island 
west  and  south-west  of  the  Havana,  where  1 
did  not  find  it  convenient  to  go.  I  simply 
remark,  that  the  superior  quality  of  the  Ha¬ 
vana  tobacco  is,  by  the  inhabitants,  attri¬ 
buted  to  the  nature  of  the  soil;  and  that  the 
tobacco  produced  in  different  districts  of  the 
island,  is  thought  to  possess  very  unequal 
excellence. 

Sugar  Plantations. — The  cane  i3  a  jointed 
reed,  terminating  in  blades,  or  leaves,  whose 
edges  are  finely  serrated.  \V  hen  ripe,  its 
color  inclines  to  yellow.  It  is  filled  with  a 
soft,  pithy  substance,  abounding  in  juice, 
which,  coming  from  the  fresh  cane,  is  very 
delicious  The  distance  between  the  joints 
of  the  cane  varies  from  two  to  five  inches; 
and  its  average  diameter  is  about  three-fourths 
of  an  inch  The  common  height  of  the  cane 
is  from  five  to  seven  feet. 

It  is  cultivated  by  laying  short  pieces — 
usually  the  tops — horizontally  in  holes  or 
trenches,  and  covering  them  with  earth  about 
two  inches  deep  In  a  few  days  the  young 
sprouts  appear,  and,  as  they  grow,  earth  is 
gradually  drawn  around  them.  Precisely  the 
same  attention  is  needed  by  the  cane,  that 
is  given  to  Indian  corn.  The  season  for 
planting  is  the  autumnal  months,  and  the  cane 
is  ripe  tor  the  mill  in  about  a  year  and  a  quar¬ 
ter.  A  single  planting  answers  for  several 
years. 

So  much  nutriment  is  contained  in  the  juice 
of  the  cane,  and  so  freely  is  it  drank  during 
the  harvest,  that  although  the  poor  slave 
then  works  very  hard — often  I  fear  much  too 
hard — at  no  time  of  the  year  does  he  look  so 
well,  or  enjoy  better  health. 

The  ripest  cane  is  of  course  cut  first,  but 
only  enough  from  day  to  day  to  supply  the 
demand.  The  mill,  in  which  it  is  ground, 
consists  of  three  upright,  iron-plaUd  cylin¬ 
ders,  between  30  and  4(1  inches  in  length,  and 
from  20  to  25  in  diameter.  The  power  is 
applied  to  the  middle  cylinder,  which  moves 
the  other  two.  A  slave,  standing  in  front, 
thrusts  the  cane  between  the  middle  cylinder 
and  the  one  at  the  right;  and  another  slave, 
on  the  other  side,  sends  it  back  between  the 
middle  cylinder  and  the  one  at  the  left,  by 
which  time  the  juice  is  pretty  thoroughly- 
expressed.  This  is  conveyed  into  the  boiling 
house,  along  a  wooden  gutter  lined  with  lead, 
!  where  it  is  received  into  what  is  termed  the 


4 


Remarks  on  the  Island  of  Cuba. 


clarifier.  Here  the  temperature  of  the  li- 
<[Uor  is  raised  nearly,  but  not  quite,  to  boiling 
heat;  a  small  quantity  of  quicklime  is  thrown 
in,  which  is  supposed  to  take  up  some  veget¬ 
able  acids,  that  prevent  the  granulation  of  the 
sugar;  and  the  impurities,  rising  to  the  sur¬ 
face,  are  skimmed  olf.  The  juice  is  then  re¬ 
moved  to  a  boiler,  and,  as  the  evaporation 
proceeds,  through  a  series  of  boilers,  until  it 
acquires  the  consistency  of  syrup. 

If  muscovado,  or  the  common  brown  sugar, 
is  to  be  made,  this  syrup  is  then  put  into 
large,  shallow  vessels,  and  is  allowed  to  cool 
and  granulate  undisturbed;  when  it  is  placed 
in  hogsheads,  the  bottoms  of  which  are  per¬ 
forated  with  holes.  Through  these  the  mo¬ 
lasses  passes  into  a  channel,  that  conveys  it  to 
a  reservoir;  arid  from  thence  it  often  goes  to 
a  distillery,  and  is  converted  into  rum.  But 
I  saw  only  one  plantation,  where  muscovado 
sugar  was  made  in  considerable  quantities. 
The  general  custom  in  Cuba,  is  to  carry  the 
process  of  refining  further  titan  this. 

In  the  first  place,  the  syrup  is  poured  into  a 
trough,  and  is  beaten  while  it  is  cooling.  It  is 
then  put  into  conical  earthen  vessels,  contain¬ 
ing  as  much  as  a  negro  can  carry,  and  hav¬ 
ing  both  ends  open.  That  the  molasses  may 
be  thoroughly  carried  oft',  these  vessels  are 
placed  upon  a  frame,  with  their  apex  down¬ 
ward,  and  moist  clay  is  spread  over  the  top 
of  the  sugar.  The  water  from  the  clay, filtering 
through  the  sugar,  dilutes  the  molasses,  and 
carries  it  through  the  open  apex,  into  a  chan¬ 
nel,  formed  like  an  inverted  roof  of  a  house, 
which  transmits  the  whole  to  a  reservoir. 
Sugar,  thus  purified,  is,  for  an  obvious  reason, 
denominated  c'ai/ed  sugar.  It  is  tbe  com¬ 
mon  while  sugar. 

In  general  a  gallon  of  juice  will  produce  a 
pound  of  sugar;  and  an  acre  of  cane  will  furnish 
from  fifteen  hundred  weight  to  a  ton;  some¬ 
times  much  more.  The  fields  of  cane,  which 
fell  under  my  observation,  consist  of  from 
2(J0  to  400  acres  each. 

Coffee  Plantations. — The  coffee  tree  has 
only  a  single  stem,  which  rises  perpendicular¬ 
ly,  and  is  well  filled  with  branches  from  within 
a  foot  of  the  ground  upw  ards-  In  order  that 
the  fruit  may  be  gathered  with  facility,  the 
tree  is  not  suffered  to  grow  more  than  five 
feet  and  a  half  high.  Its  general  form  is  con¬ 
ical. 

A  coffee-field  is  laid  out  with  great  at¬ 
tention  to  order  and  beauty.  A  piece  of 
level  ground  is  chosen,  which  usually  has  a 
red  soil,  and  is  generally  free  from  stones. 
A  square,  or  parallelogram  is  then  marked 
out,  containing  from  100  to  5S0  acres,  to  be 
enclosed  in  a  hedge  of  limes,  pinon,  or  some  1 
other  suitable  material  The  lime  hedge  is 
very  beautiful,  being  from  four  to  six  feet  ' 
thick,  and  having  its  top,  bv  frequent  trim¬ 
ming,  a  perfect  level.  The  pinon  is  not  so 
beautiful;  but  it  takes  less  room,  requires  less 
attention,  makes  as  good  a  fence,  and  is  more 
durable. 

Ha  ving  defined  the  boundaries  of  the  estate, 
the  principal  avenues  through  it  are  next 
laid  out;  and  they  are  generally  two,  three, 
or  four  rods  wide,  straight,  and  intersecting 
each  other  at  right  angles.  Iu  the  finished 


estates,  these  are  usually  ornamented  and 
shaded,  on  each  side,  by  rows  of  the  orange, 
citron,  mango,  almond,  avocado,  and  palm 
trees,  &c.  At  the  termination  of  one  of 
these,  and  situated  perhaps  on  elevated 
ground,  is  the  house  of  the  planter.  Smaller 
avenues  are  next  made,  parallel  with  the 
others.  All  these  avenues  are  preserved  free 
from  weeds,  and  are  kept  smooth  and  neat. 

Thus  the  whole  ground  is  thrown  into 
squares,  which  are  to  be  filled  with  coffee 
plants.  These,  having  previously  grown  to 
the  height  of  one  or  two  feet,  from  seeds 
sown  under  the  shade  of  some  grove,  are  care¬ 
fully  transplanted,  and  arc  arranged  in  rows 
parallel  with  the  avenues,  and  nearly  six  feet 
apart.  A  square  contains  10,  20,  or  SO  thou¬ 
sand  trees.  By  the  third  year  from  t  his  time, 
they  begin  to  remunerate  the  planter;  and  at 
the  end  of  six  or  seven  years,  may  be  regardi  d 
as  mature.  When  a  tree  dies,  a  new  one 
lakes  its  place;  hut  the  original  plantation  is 
expected  to  live  about  15  years  — Among  the 
coff  e,  especially  when  it  is  new,  tbe  plantain 
is  suffered  to  grow,  for  the  purpose  of  giving 
bread  to  the  negroes.  Here  and  there,  also, 
the  orange  and  citron  trees  lift  their  golden 
fruit  above  the  surface;  and  far  above  all  the 
rest,  the  privileged  palm,  in  every  direction, 
waves  its  beautiful  summit. 

Such  plantations  arc  great,  splendid  gar¬ 
dens,  and  are  justly  regarded  by  the  inhabi¬ 
tants  as  tbe  glory  of  their  island. 

The  plantations  that  are  finished,  contain 
from  100,000  to  400,000  trees  in  each,  and 
are  wrought  by  from  40  to  4  i0  negroes;  and 
i  in  proportion  to  the  gross  income,  the  expense 
of  conducting  them  is  said  to  be  considerably 
less,  than  that  of  the  sugar  estates.  Hence 
their  number  is  more  rapidly  augmenting. 

The  trees  generally  blossom  in  February, 
and  in  the  early  part  of  May,  and  sometimes 
oltener;  but  the  blossom,  on  which  most 
dependence  is  placed,  is  the  one  in  May. 
Then  a  vast  level  surface,  white  as  the  drifted 
snow,  is  presented  to  the  beholder;  but  va¬ 
ried  and  enlivened  by  the  taller  trees  just 
mentioned.  The  harvest  commences  in 
September,  and  ends  in  February  or  March. 
It  within  this  time  the  average  of  half  a  pound 
of  coffee  is  gathered  from  each  tree,  the  har¬ 
vest  is  esteemed  good. 

When  the  berries  acquire  a  dark  red  color, 
they  are  considered  ripe  for  gathering,  and 
the  negroes,  properly  equipped,  are  sent  into 
the  field.  An  industrious  negro  will  gather 
five  bushels  in  a  day;  and  a  bushel  in  the 
pulp,  fresh  from  the  tree,  is  expected  to  yield 
at  least  10  pounds  of  good  coffee.  It  is  then 
spread  upon  extensive  dryers  made  of  stone 
and  mortar.  This  process  requires  nearly  a 
month.  The  husk,  or  shell  is  then  separated 
from  the  seed,  in  a  mill,  which  exactly  re¬ 
sembles  the  mills  iu  this  country,  where 
apples  are  ground  in  a  circular  trough,  by  a 
huge,  rolling  stone — excepting  that  the  roller 
for  the  coffee  is  wood,  though  of  considerable 
weight.  In  a  few  cases,  a  machine  of  a  very- 
different  construction  is  used;  but  it  need  not 
|  be  described. 

The  pulp  being  removed,  tbe  whole  is  ex¬ 
posed  to  the  action  of  a  fan,  and  then  of  a 
!  sieve;  after  which  the  female  slaves  carefully 


Remarks  on  the  Island  of  Cuba. 


pick  out  the  defective  kernels.  From  12 
to  15  hundred  pounds  may  thus  be  cleaned 

in  a  day. _ In  the  opinion  of  the  planters,  the 

flavor  of  coffee  is  materially  improved  by  age. 
That  winch  is  four  or  five  years  old  is  pre¬ 
ferred. 

Hitherto  the  planters  have  paid  little  at¬ 
tention  to  the  manuring  of  their  lands,  though 
the  subject  receives  increasing  regard.  Al¬ 
most  the  only  method  has  been,  to  spread 
over  the  surface  of  the  ground  the  decayed 
leaves  and  stems  of  the  sugar  cane,  and  other 
vegetables. 

Some  idea  may  be  obtained  respecting  the 
produce  of  the  island,  from  an  account  of  the 
exports  of  sugar  and  coffee,  from  the  Hava¬ 
na  and  Matanzas,  during  the  year  1823. 

Sugar.— From  Havana;  300,312  boxes, 

containing  about  lbs.  120,000,000 

From  Matanzas;  80,000  boxes,  32,000,000 

Exports  of  sugar,  lbs.  152,000,000 

Coffee.— From  Havana;  895,924  ar- 

robas,  lbs.  23,294,024 

From  Matanzas,  3,400,000 

Exports  of  coffee,  lbs.  20,694,024 


Estimated  value  of  the  sugar,  at  g25 

per  box,  jg9,508,800 

Estimated  value  of  the  coffee,  at  15c. 

per  lb.  4,004,103 

Value  of  the  above  exports,  gl3, 513, 903 

I  have  in  my  possession  no  estimate  of  the 
produce  shipped  from  the  other  ports  in  the 
island.  Excepting  St.  Jago  de  Cuba,  it  can¬ 
not,  I  suppose,  be  to  any  considerable  amount. 

The  produce  of  the  interior  is  sometimes 
transported  to  the  coast  by  mules,  and  by 
small  native  horses,  which  follow  each  other 
in  what  is,  with  us,  called  “Indian  file.”  But 
more  generally  strong  carts  are  used,  the 
wheels  of  which  have  a  large  diameter.  The 
oxen  are  guided  by  a  small  rope,  passing 
through  the  cartilage  which  divides  the  nos¬ 
trils.  If  there  is  more  than  one  yoke,  the 
forward  oxen  are  led  by  a  negro  boy.  The 
yoke  is  placed  just  behind  the  horns,  to  which 
it  is  strongly  bound,  and  the  whole  weight  is 
drawn  by  the  head — it  is  thought,  with  much 
advantage. 

In  a  few  instances,  the  land  carriage  is 
shortened  by  rivers.  The  only  navigable 
river,  however,  that  came  within  my  observa¬ 
tion,  was  the  Canimar,  which  runs  into  the 
Bay  of  Matanzas.  A  bar  at  its  mouth  per¬ 
mits  the  entrance  of  boats  only;  but  within 
the  bar,  and  for  eight  miles,  (when  all  naviga¬ 
tion  suddenly  ends,)  there  is  depth  enough 
for  vessels  of  any  burthen.  Its  width  is  about 
60  yards;  and  its  banks  generally'  rise  abrupt¬ 
ly  to  the  height  of  one  or  two  hundred  feet,  , 
Through  the  kindness  of  a  friend,  1  sailed  up 
this  river  in  April;  and  when  I  had  observ-  | 
ed  its  steep,  elevated  banks;  their  regular  j 
correspondencies  to  each  other;  the  great 
depth  of  water;  the  absence  of  a  current,  that 
could  wear  out  a  channel;  and  the  sudden  1 
ending  of  navigation,  and,  I  may  say,  of  the 
river  itself;  —  I  could  not  blit  indulge  the  con-  j 
jecture,  that,  in  some  ancient  convulsion,  the 


solid  ground  had  been  driven  asunder,  and 
the  neighboring  ocean  had  rushed  in  at  the 
opening. — Much  business  is  done  at  the  head 
of  the  river,  which  is  called  the  Embarcadero , 
to  which  place  the  growing  plantations,  for  30 
miles  round,  send  their  productions,  and  from 
whence  not  less  than  1,500,000  pounds  of 
coffee,  and  8,000,000  pounds  of  sugar  are 
annually  sent  to  Matanzas. 

Animals ,  &c. — There  are  no  dangerous 
wild  animals  on  the  island.  The  wild  dogs, 
descended  from  the  bloodhounds  originally 
imported  to  hunt  down  the  natives,  are  the 
most  mischievous.  They  are  considerably 
numerous. 

The  race  of  tame  animals  is  various,  and 
generally  excellent.  There  are  said  to 
be  no  larger,  stronger,  or  more  docile  oxen 
I  in  the  world.  1  have  seen  few  such  in  the 
!  I  United  States.  'I  he  naiive  horses  are  gener¬ 
ally  small,  but  vigorous,  hardy,  swift,  surefoot¬ 
ed”,  and  well  broken.  Their  common  gait  is 
an  agreeable  pace,  or  amble.  Mules  are  nu¬ 
merous,  and,  though  a  diminutive  breed,  have 
remarkable  strength,  and  endure  hard  labor, 
and  cruel  abuse  from  the  negroes,  with  much 
patience.  Cows  give  less  milk  than  is  com¬ 
mon  in  this  country,  but  the  quality  of  it  is 
very  good.  Goats,  sheep,  and  swine  are  easily 
raised. 

There  are  no  reptiles  on  the  island,  the 
bite  of  which  is  fatal.  The  hornet,  scorpion, 
and  centipede  are  considered  the  worst.  Liz- 
zards  are  abundant,  but  harml&ss. 

The  mountain-crabs  come  annually  from 
the  mountains,  in  large  armies,  to  deposit 
their  young  in  the  sea,  and  then  return.  They 
are  followed  by  the  young  ones,  as  soon  as 
they  have  strength  for  the  journey.  Another 
kind  dwells  in  holes  dug  along  the  sea-shore. 
A  species  of  ant,  called  viva-agua,  does 
much  mischief  to  the  coffee,  by  depriving  the 
trees  of  their  leaves.  These  insects  make 
deep  subterranean  excavations.  A  short  ride 
sometimes  carries  the  traveller  past  hundreds 
of  little  tumuli  on  the  plains,  formed  by  the 
earth  which  they  have  thrown  up.  A  small 
ii  insect,  called  by  the  French  a  chigre,  is  very 
troublesome  to  the  feet  of  those,  who  are  era- 
\  ployed  in  cleaning  the  coffee.  It  makes  a 
lodgment  beneath  the  skin,  where  it  forms  a 
small  bag,  and,  if  not  soon  removed,  deposits 
ii  its  eggs.  But  the  most  interesting  specimen 
|  of  the  insect  tribe,  is  the  cuculla,  a  curious 
i  fire-fly,  which,  as  the  rainy  season  approaches, 
kindles  a  thousand  brilliant  little  fires  in  the 
evening  air.  It  has  two  strong  lights  on  each 
side  of  the  upper  part  of  the  head,  and  one 
beneath  the  abdomen;  and  when  fully  grown, 
is  about  three-fourths  of  an  inch  in  length. 
Two  or  three  of  these  will  enable  one  to  read 
in  the  darkest  night. 

The  most  noted  birds,  are  the  parrot,  paro- 
j  quet,  and  quail. 

The  markets  have  a  good  supply  of  fish. 
Excellent  turtles  are  found  in  the  shallow 
waters.  Turtle-soup  is  the  dish  for  Friday, 
when  no  good  Catholic  eats  meat,  without  a 
dispensation.  But  such  dispensations,  I  should 
judge,  must  be  common. 

Climate  — The  climate  of  Cuba  is  not  well 
understood  abroad.  From  the  frequent  mor¬ 
tality  among  strangers  at  the  Havana,  the 


6 


Remarks  on  the 

whole  island  has  been  supposed  unhealthy. 
But  this  is  far  from  being  correct. 

The  Havana ,  indeed,  is  never  absolutely  a 
safe  place  for  strangers,  without  many  pre¬ 
cautions  on  their  part;  and  sometimes  no  pre¬ 
cautions  will  avaii.  While  I  was  on  the  island, 
however,  which  was  from  early  in  February 
till  sometime  in  May,  the  city  was  remarkably 
healthy.  So  it  had  been  for  the  two  months 
previous  to  my  arrival.  I  was  assured,  on 
respectable  authority,  that  but  one  case  of 
death  happened  among  foreigners  in  Decern 
her  and  January,  although  their  number  in 
the  city  and  harbor  must  have  exceeded 
4,000.  But  this  was  a  rare  phenomenon,  and 
might  be  chiefly  owing  to  the  unusual  coolness' 
of  the  season. 

Natives  of  the  Havana  are  not,  so  far  as  I 
could  learn,  liable  to  the  yellow-fever  provid¬ 
ed  they  are,  at  no  time,  long  absent  from  the 
city.  But  l  am  not  surprised  that  strangers 
suffer.  No  tide  gives  motion  to  the  waters 
of  the  harbor.  'I  he  elevated  land,  also,  rising 
on  the  eastern  side  of  the  harbor,  and  crown¬ 
ed  with  fortifications,  breaks  the  current  of 
the  trade-winds.  The  city,  moreover,  stands 
on  a  low  plain,  and  is  surrounded  by  a  wall 
of  considerable  height,  which  obstructs  the 
circulation  of  air.  Its  streets,  too,  are  narrow, 
badly  paved,  generally  muddy  or  dusty,  and  not 
always  free  from  impurities;  while,  during  the 
rainy  season,  a  vertical  sun  almost  daily  pours 
intense  heat  upon  a  thousand  little  pools, 
which  are  formed  in  them.  In  addition  to 
this,  the  floors  of  the  houses,  being  usually 
of  hardened  earth  cannot  fail  to  give  rise  to 
chilling  exhalations  What  wonder'd  disease  of¬ 
ten  sends  the  stranger  into  the  grave,  when,  on 
his  arrival,  he  is  assailed  at  once  by  malaria 
from  all  these  sources! 

But  other  causes,  no  doubt,  have  been  ac¬ 
tive  in  multiplying  instances  of  mortality. 
The  great  body  of  victims  to  the  fever,  are 
seamen.  They  have  experienced,  perhaps,  a 
sudden  change  of  climate  from  coolness  to 
great  heat,  and  the  vital  powers  act,  conse¬ 
quently,  with  diminished  energy.  The  mas¬ 
ters  and  supercargoes  are  then  exposed  to 
burning  sunbeams  on  the  mole,  and  are  ex¬ 
hausted  by  business,  and  vexed  by  disappoint¬ 
ments  and  delays  Perhaps  their  diet  is  ir¬ 
regular;  their  digestion  impeded;  their  pers¬ 
piration  obstructed:  and  then,  vexation  of 
mind  and  exhaustion  of  body,  amidst  nox 
ious  effluvia,  (if  such  there  are,)  will  suffice, 
one  would  think,  to  occasion,  in  frequent  in¬ 
stances,  a  fatal  catastrophe. — The  common 
sailors  reside  on  board  their  vessels;  are  often 
exposed,  in  the  season  of  fever,  to  both 
sun  and  rain;  have  little  regard  to  the  kind, 
or  quantity  of  their  food;  make  an  excessive 
use  of  liquids;  expose  themselves  to  be  cooled 
on  deck  by  the  breezes  and  dews  of  evening; 
and,  when  wearied,  not  seldom  fall  asleep 
where  they  are  chilled  by  a  cold  stream  of  the 
midnight  air — The  enlargement  of  the  mole, 
within  a  few  years,  by  facilitating  the  progress 
of  busiuess,  and  lessening  the  amount  of  ex¬ 
posure,  has,  it  is  said,  diminished  materially 
the  mortality  among  seamen. 

Without  the  walls  of  the  Havana,  where 
there  is  a  numerous  population,  and  where 
circumstances  are  more  favorable,  the  danger 


Island  of  Cuba . 

is  said  to  be  much  less,  than  in  the  city.  It  is 
thought  to  be  less,  also,  at  Matarizas. 

I  could  not  find  that  the  internal  parts  of 
the  island  are  liable,  in  any  extent  worthy  of 
notice,  to  the  yellow-fever.  If  strangers 
avoid  the  midday  sun,  the  chilling  damps  of 
the  night,  exposure  to  rain,  and  intemperate 
eating  and  drinking,  1  think  they  might  dwell 
there,  through  the  year,  as  secure  from  sudden, 
fatal  disease,  as  in  New  England — and  these 
precautions  are  easily  taken. 

The  more  common  diseases  among  the  in¬ 
habitants,  are  dysentery,  intermittent  fevers, 
complaints  of  the  liver,  and  ophthalmia  Dys¬ 
enteries  sometimes  occasion  great  mortality', 
especially  among  the  slaves.  Intermittents 
are  common  to  the  low  grounds.  The  liver 
complaint  is  a  frequent  evil  :  and  cases  of  par¬ 
tial  blindness,  I  was  assured,  not  seldom  occur. 
Children  have  a  healthful  appearance,  hut 
need  considerable  care  The  general  manner 
of  living,  however,  being  simple,  health  is  a 
blessing  greatly  prevalent.  Old  age  is  often 
to  be  seen.  Hypochondriacs  are  rare. 

The  yellow-fever  is  not  regarded  by  the 
natives  as  at  all  contagious  ;  but  the  consump¬ 
tion  ^1  suppose  because  it  is  rare,)  is  thought 
to  be  so:  and  when  a  person  dies  of  that  dis¬ 
ease,  the  precautionary  measures,  which  are 
taken,  are  sometimes  very  many. 

Having  broken  my  thermometer,  and  being 
unable  to  replace  it  at  the  Havana,  I  despaired 
of  coming  to  a  precise  knowledge  of  the  tem¬ 
perature  of  the  climate.  But  just  before  my 
departure,  a  gentleman  of  great  accuracy, 
who  had  come  to  the  island  for  the  same  reason 
with  myself,  was  so  kind  as  to  transcribe  for 
me  a  thermometrical  journal,  which  he  had 
kept  from  December  to  March  last  inclusive. 
The  gentleman  resided,  during  that  time, 
about  30  miles  south  of  Matanzas,  on  ground, 
which,  as  to  its  elevation  and  surrounding 
country,  would  render  the  temperature  there, 
a  fair  specimen  of  the  temperature  in  the  in¬ 
terior  generally. 

The  extremes  of  Fahrenheit’s  thermometer, 
in  these  months,  were  as  follows: 

At  sunrise,  -  -  -  -  from  40°  to  72' 

At  2  o’clock,  P.  M.  -  •  65°  “  87' 

At  9  P.  M.  -  -  -  47°  “  78° 

General  range,  -  -  55°  “  82° 

The  mean  temperature,  at  each  of  these 
times  of  day,  withthe  mean  temperature  of 
each  month,  and  of  the  four  months,  is  given 
in  the  next  table. 


Sunrise. 

2  o'clock.  9  P.  M.  The  month. 

December, 

70° 

79°  66°  72° 

January, 

61° 

80°  64°  68° 

February, 

62° 

77°  68°  69° 

March, 

64° 

80"  71°  72° 

Mean  temperature  of  the  four  months,  70° 

When  the  thermometer  was  depressed  be¬ 
low  50°,  it  was  owing  to  what  is  termed  a 
JVorther;  that  is,  a  northerly  wind,  which  is 
generally  attended  with  showers.  At  the 
Havana,  in  February,  I  found  these  northers 
uncomfortably  cool.  Humboldt  somewhere 
says,  that,  during  these  winds,  the  thermome¬ 
ter  at  the  Havana  has  been  seen  to  fall  as  low 
as  32°,  or  to  the  freezing  point,  only  262  feet 
above  the  level  of  the  ocean. — The  mean 


7 


Remarks  on  the  Island  of  Cuba. 


heat  of  the  summer  months,  according  to  the 
representations  of  the  inhabitants,  cannot 
very  much  exceed  75 *.  The  atmosphere  is 
tempered  by  the  rains. 

Though  the  four  months  above  mentioned 
were  a  part  of  the  dry  season,  there  were  a 
few  show  ers  in  each  of  them.  In  April  these 
showers  became  more  frequent,  and  still  more 
so  in  May. — The  rainy  season  commences  in 
June,  and  continues  till  November.  The 
morning  is  usually  fair;  but  about  noon  dark 
clouds  arise,  the  lightnings  play,  the  thunder 
is  frequent,  loud  and  terrific,  and  the  waters 
come  down  in  torrents.  Now  vegetation  ad-  [ 
vances  with  wonderful  rapidity,  and  nature 
puts  on  her  richest  attire.  But  the  deep  i 
loam  in  the  roads,  saturated  with  water,  yields 
to  pressure,  and  is  almost  impassable. 

A  considerable  number  of  invalids  from  the 
United  States  resort  to  this  island,  in  the  win¬ 
ter.  Those,  who  go  before  their  constitutions 
are  broken  down,  and  who  attend  properly  to 
their  diet  and  exercise,  usually  derive  benefit. 
But  some  go  to  the  island  when  it  is  too  late 
to  find  health  any  where;  and  others  derive 
no  benefit  from  the  change,  because  they 
suppose  that  the  climate  alone  will  do  every 
thing,  and  act  accordingly.  In  no  country  can  it 
be  easier  to  adhere  to  a  mild  and  salutary 
regimen,  than  it  is  in  Cuba. 

No  invalids  should  proceed  to  the  West  In¬ 
dies,  unless  acquainted  there,  without  good 
letters  to  some  merchants  or  planters  With 
such  letters  they  will  he  hospitably  and  kind¬ 
ly  entertained;  for  no  people  are  more  hos¬ 
pitable  and  kind  than  the  merchants  and  plan¬ 
ters  of  that  island.  Of  this  I  had  abundant 
experience  A  passport  will  of  course  be  pro¬ 
cured  before  leaving  this  country,  which  must 
be  endorsed,  according  to  the  laws  of  Cuba, 
by  some  Spanish  Consul  residing  in  the  Uni¬ 
ted  States. 


Population  — The  population  of  the  island 
is  estimated,  in  the  “Stranger’s  Guide”  before 
mentioned,  to  have  been,  in  the  year  1819,  as 
follows: 


Freemen. — Whites, 
People  of  color, 
Slaves. 


290.0217 
115,691  $ 


405,712 

225,268 


Total,  630,980 

Amount  of  the  colored  population,  340,959 
Excess  of  colored  population  above 

the  white,  -  -  50,938 


That  is;  in  every  100  inhabitants,  46  are 
whites,  18  are  free  colored  people,  and  36  are 
slaves. 

According  to  Humboldt,  there  were,  in 
1804,  234,000  whites,  90,000  free  people  of 
color,  and  108,00!'  slaves;  or,  in  every  100  in¬ 
habitants,  54  whites,  21  free  people  of  color, 
and  25  slaves. 

The  more  obvious  classification  of  the  inhabi¬ 
tants  is  into  foreigners,  (consisting  chiefly  of 
emigrants  from  the  United  States,  Great  Brit¬ 
ain,  Germany  and  France.)  European  Span¬ 
iards,  Creoles,  free  people  of  color,  and  slaves. 

The  settlement  otforeigners  upon  the  island 
is  favored  by  the  present  Governor-General  ol 
Cuba,  and  by  the  Governor  of  Matanzas,  whose 
characters,  for  enlightened  views  and  strict 
integrity,  are  deservedly  held  in  high  estima¬ 


tion.  Many  of  the  principal  mercantile  houses 
are  composed  of  foreigners,  and  not  a  few 
plantations  are  owned  and  conducted  by  them. 

The  European  Spaniards  are  numerous, 
and  possess  great  influence;  but  whether  they 
have  a  monopoly  of  offices  and  privileges,  as 
was  formerly  the  case  in  the  Spanish  provin¬ 
ces  of  South  America,  I  am  not  well  informed. 

The  Creoles  are  the  native  white  popula¬ 
tion;  and  although  excelled,  as  a  body,  by  their 
European  brethren,  in  intellectual  acquire¬ 
ments,  they  are  not  excelled  by  them  in  orig¬ 
inal  capacity.  They  possess  great  quickness 
and  shrewdness  of  perception. 

The  population  of  free  colored  people  has 
risen  from  the  humanity  of  the  Spanish  law. 
Every  slave  has  a  right  to  his  freedom,  when 
he  pays  his  master  a  sum  of  money  equal  to 
his  value.  The  master  cannot  demand  more 
than  he  gave  for  the  slave,  unless  he  has 
taught  him  a  trade.  Slaves  may,  also,  pur¬ 
chase  a  part  of  their  time,  in  which  case  they 
may  soon  obtain  money  to  redeem  the  whole. 
They  generally  have  certain  privileges.  Each 
one  is  allowed  a  small  piece  of  ground  for 
his  own  use;  and  to  some  extent  they  are 
permitted  to  raise  hogs  and  poultry,  which 
they  Si'll  to  their  masters.  The  number  of 
the  free  colored  people,  twenty  years  ago, 
was  90,000.  During  the  fifteen  subsequent 
years  it  augmented,  as  we  have  seen,  to  about 
115,000;  which  is  no  more  than  might  be  ex¬ 
pected  from  the  natural  increase. 

The  slaves  are  thought  to  be  treated  better 
on  this  island,  lhau  on  most  of  the  other  West 
India  islands.  In  general,  their  usage  is  bet¬ 
ter  than  I  had  supposed  Several  enlighten¬ 
ed  planters  confessed,  however,  that  slavery  is 
an  evil  not  confined  to  the  slave,  since  it  really 
diminishes  the  value  of  the  island.  “Were 
there  no  slaves,”  said  they,  “we  could  procure 
more  efficient  labor  from  the  white  popula¬ 
tion.”  But  I  must  be  allowed  to  question,, 
whether  the  Spanish  emancipation-law,  as  it 
now  stands,  confers  any  advantage  either  up¬ 
on  the  slave,  or  his  master.  It  has  set  loose 
from  restraint  more  than  100, Oou  blacks,  to 
dwell  in  the  island,  with  no  love  for  the  whites, 
without  education,  without  moral  principle, 
without  good  habits,  and  destitute  of  charac¬ 
ter.  Make  but  another  law,  providing  effect¬ 
ually  for  the  Christian  instruction  of  the  slave; 
then  will  the  law,  which  provides  for  his  lib¬ 
erty,  have  an  excellent  effect;  especially  since 
it  gains  its  object  by  a  gradual  operation, 
through  the  industry  and  frugality  of  the  slave. 
When  slaves  become  free,  it  might  not  be 
amiss  to  send  them  to  Hayti,  where  their  con¬ 
dition  will  be  improved,  and  where  they  can 
do  less  harm,  than  if  they  remained  in  Cuba. 

The  number  of  slaves  imported  from  Africa, 
since  1786,  is  as  follows: 

From  1786  to  1800  -  -  -  60,473 

From  1800  “  1815  -  -  84,517 

From  1815  “  1821  -  .  -  99,939 

Total,  244,929 

In  1821  the  further  importation  of  slaves 
was  prohibited  by  the  Spanish  government; 
though,  since  that  time,  at  least  5, OOOare  sup¬ 
posed  to  have  been  smuggled  into  the  island 
every  year. 


S  Remarks  on  the  Island  of  Cuba. 


Chief  Places . — I  visited  the  Havana,  Ma- 
tanzas,  and  Madruga.  My  descriptions  will 
be  confined  to  these  places,  and  must  be  very 
general. 

The  Havana  is  to  be  ranked  with  the  prin¬ 
cipal  cities  of  our  hemisphere,  as  well  on  ac¬ 
count  of  its  population,  as  its  commerce.  The 
number  of  whites  residing  within  the  walls  of 
the  city  is  about  44,000;  and  the  suburbs  and 
dependencies  of  the  city,  contain  about  4o,000 
more.  It  stands  on  a  plain,  west  of  one  of 
the  most  beautiful  of  harbors,  and  its  walls, 
"which  enclose  about  a  square  mile  of  ground, 
are  between  -20  and  30  feet  high-  Cannon 
are  mounted  at  suitable  distances  on  the  walls, 
and,  in  case  of  an  attack  from  the  land,  there 
is  a  wide  ditch  without,  that  can  be  filled  with 
water  from  the  canal  which  supplies  the  city. 

Perhaps  the  entrance  to  few  ports,  if  any, 
in  the  world,  is  more  strongly  fortified,  than 
the  port  of  the  Havana.  Although  there  is 
an  admirable  bay  of  deep  water  within,  its 
mouth  is  so  narrow,  that  but  one  ship  can  en¬ 
ter  at  a  time.  Proceeding  into  this  bay,  a 
ship  first  passes  a  lofty  castle,  called  the  J\lor- 
ro,  situated  at  the  extreme  point  of  land  on 
the  left.  A  light-house  rises  from  a  corner  of 
this  fortification.  From  the  Mon  o,  for  nearly 
half-a-mile  up  the  harbor,  the  elevated  bank 
is  crowned  with  immense  batteries,  denomi¬ 
nated  the  Cabanas,  erected,  it  is  said,  at  an 
expense  of  more  than  30, 000, Out)  of  dollars,  tin 
the  opposite  side,  is  another  strong  fort,  called 
the  Punta,  connected  with  the  walls  of  the 
city;  and  within  the  walls  is  the  citadel. 
These  most  expensive  fortifications  arose 
from  a  belief,  very  properly  entertained  by 
Spain,  that  the  dominion  of  Cuba  was  essen¬ 
tial  to  the  preservation  of  Mexico,  which  pos¬ 
sesses  no  good  harbor  on  its  eastern  shore. 

The  city  is  divided  into  solid  squares,  and 
its  streets,  though  narrow,  are  straight,  and 
intersect  each  other  at  right  angles.  The 
houses  are  quadrangular,  having  a  court  in 
the  middle.  All  the  rooms  have  a  direct  com¬ 
munication  with  each  other,  and  also  open  in¬ 
to  this  court.  Most  of  the  houses  have  two 
stories.  The  lower  one  is  commonly  used  for 
a  ware-house,  shops,  Ike.  The  materials  for 
building  are  small,  irregular  fragments  of 
stone,  which  are  united  by  a  strong  cement, 
and  the  wall  is  then  plastered  and  white-wash¬ 
ed.  The  roofs  are  tiled. 

Many  of  the  inhabitants  possess  vast  wealth, 
and  have  costly  habitations.  There  are,  also, 
rich  and  spacious  monasteries,  convents,  and 
churches.  The  convents  of  St.  Domingo  and 
St.  Francisco  were  the  only  institutions  of 
the  kind,  which  I  visited.  Each  of  them  oc¬ 
cupies  an  entire  square,  having  an  open  court 
in  the  middle,  which  is  surrounded  bv  piazzas 
in  the  first  and  second  stories.  The  walls 
facing  the  courts,  are  covered  with  historical 
paintings,  representing  transactions  in  the 
lives  of  their  patron  saints.  Both  the  buildings 
and  paintings  are  now  going  to  decay.  The 
convent  of  St.  Francisco  had  been  converted 
into  barracks  for  soldiers,  and  had  suffered 
wanton  abuse.  This  is  one  of  the  1‘2  con¬ 
vents,  that  were  suppressed  during  the  reign 
of  the  Constitution. 

But  the  Cathedral  interested  me  more  than 
any  other  edifice.  It  is  a  massive.  Gothic 


structure;  and  for  magnitude  and  taste,  is  in¬ 
comparably  superior  to  the  other  places  of 
worship.  Even  a  Protestant  might  survey  its 
walls,  and  pillars,  and  even  its  altar,  and  find 
little  to  offend.  There  is  no  tinsel,  no  parade. 
Every  where  is  simplicity.  The  paintings 
seem  to  have  been  placed  where  they  are, 
rather  by  the  artist,  than  by  the  divine;  and 
such  are  the  subjects  of  them,  and  such  their 
execution,  disposition,  and  moral  effect,  that, 
as  they  seemed  not  to  be  objects  of  worship, 
I  should  be  sorry  to  have  them  removed. 
The  images  are  few,  consisting  only  of  cruci¬ 
fixes,  which  are  so  small  that  they  must  be 
near,  in  order  to  be  seen. — The  churches  in 
general,  however,  abound  with  images,  large 
as  life,  and  gaudily  decorated. 

'I’he  Cathedral  is  the  more  interesting,  as 
it  contains  the  ashes  of  Columbus,  which  were 
brought  to  the  Havana  in  1796.  They  are 
deposited  in  the  wall,  on  the  right  side  of  the 
altar;  and  the  urn  is  concealed  by  a  marble 
slab,  on  which  is  sculptured,  in  high  relief,  a 
front  view  of  the  memorable  man. 

Beyond  the  walls  is  the  Paseo,  or  Promo- 
nade,  to  which  the  Citizens  resort  morning 
and  evening,  for  exercise  and  air.  It  is  a 
broad  avenue  for  carriages,  about  a  mile  in 
length,  with  shaded  walks  on  each  side;  and 
was  designed  for  a  beautiful  place.  But  it 
was  left  unfinished,  and  now  suffers  for  want 
of  repairs. 

Contiguous  to  this,  is  the  Botanical  Garden, 
which,  more  strikingly  than  the  Paseo,  exhib¬ 
its  an  elegant  plan,  left  but  imperfectly  exe¬ 
cuted.  The  Garden  was  formed  under  the 
patronage  of  the  “Royal  Patriotic  Society  of 
the  Havana,”  an  institution,  which  has  been  of 
much  service  to  the  island. 

A  greater  curiosity  is  the  country-seat  of 
the  Bishop  of  Havana,  which  is  about  three 
miles  from  the  gates  of  the  city;  and,  for 
beauty  of  situation,  elegance  of  design,  and 
perfection  of  order,  is  perhaps  equalled  by  no 
one  of  the  country-seats  around  the  metropo¬ 
lis  ot  New  England.  But  this  is  the  only  thing 
of  the  kind  near  the  Havana.  After  quitting 
the  suburbs,  though  there  are  many  fine  sites, 
nothing  is  beheld,  for  several  miles,  but  the 
thatched  cottages  of  a  few  peasantry.  Wheth¬ 
er  the  reason  assigned  for  this,  by  a  very  in¬ 
telligent  citizen  of  the  Havana,  be  well  found¬ 
ed,  namely, — the  insecurity  of  a  well  furnish¬ 
ed,  but  insulated  residence,  so  near  the  city, — 
I  am  not  competent  to  decide.  The  church 
is  the  Bishop's  heir  at  law;  but  the  apprehen¬ 
sion  of  sacrilege,  is  said  not  always  to  defend 
this  estate  from  encroachments. 

Matansas.  The  import  of  this  name  is 
slaughter.  Tradition  reports  it  to  have  been 
given  to  the  place,  on  account  of  a  bloody 
battle  with  the  natives,  which  happened  there. 
It  is  not  material  to  inquire  whether  this  be 
true.  The  city,  as  to  its  principal  growth,  is 
modern.  The  amount  of  its  white  population 
is  8,400  It  is  situated  at  the  bottom  of  a  bay, 
which  penetrates  several  miles  into  the  land; 
and,  for  the  most  part,  stands  on  more  elevated 
ground  than  the  Havana.  It  has  also  cleaner 
streets  than  that  city.  A  large  proportion  of 
its  houses  consist  of  a  single  story,  and  perhaps 
two  thirds  of  them  are  thatched:  but  the  thatch¬ 
ed  houses  do  not  border  on  the  harbor.  Much 


Remarks  on  the  Island  of  Cuba. 


American  society  is  always  found  in  this  place, 
and  our  language  is  understood,  in  various  de¬ 
grees,  by  many  of  the  inhabitants.  The  city  has 
but  one  church,  and  that  is  a  plain  building, 
furnished  in  the  plainest  style.  Tile  mercan¬ 
tile  importance  of  Matanzas  is  considerable  at 
present,  and  is  annually  increasing. 

Madruga.  This  is  a  noted  watering-place, 
SO  miles  from  Matanzas,  and  45  from  the 
Havana.  It  is  situated  on  the  south  side  of  the 
hills,  or  mountains,  which  bear  the  same  name. 
There  are  about  500  respectable  houses  in 
the  place,  and  during  April  and  May  the 
crowd  of  persons  in  pursuit  of  health  and 
pleasure,  is  very  great.  It  is  a  singular  fact, 
that  there  is  no  hotel  in  the  place  Every 
man  owns  a  house,  or  else  hires  one,  or  a  part 
of  one,  for  the  season.  The  church  is  a  very 
decent  building,  much  superior  to  the  usual 
style  of  churches  in  the  interior. 

The  ground  is  uneven,  and  on  three  sides 
is  barren.  On  the  south  it  is  fertile,  descend¬ 
ing  beautifully  towards  the  plains  of  San  Luis. 

1  was  shewn  three  mineral  springs,  called 
the  Paila,  Tigre,  and  Castilla.  At  each 
there  was  a  bath.  The  Paila  is  most  celebra¬ 
ted.  It  smells  and  tastes  strongly  of  sulphu¬ 
retted-hydrogen  gas,  and  deposits  sulphur. 
The  Tigre  has  less  of  these  indications,  and 
the  Castilla  none.  The  waters  are  transpar¬ 
ent,  and  flow  not  in  great  abundance.  Al¬ 
though  an  oxide  of  iron  is  very  observable  in 
the  neighboring  soil  and  rocks,  I  perceived  no 
traces  of  iron  in  either  of  the  springs.  The  wa¬ 
ters  have  been  analyzed,  but  I  could  not  learn 
the  results.  I  desired  to  ascertain  the  temper¬ 
ature,  but  there  was  no  thermometer  to 
be  obtained.  Invalids  have  found  these  waters 
beneficial  in  cutaneous  diseases,  and  in  cases 
of  debility. 

The  Padre  of  Yladruga  gratified  me — as 
did,  also,  an  older  priest  at  Matanzas — by  his 
kindness  of  disposition,  amiable  manners,  the 
humble  piety  which  he  seemed  to  possess,  and 
the  excellent  character  which  he  sustained. 
He  called  at  my  lodgings,  while  I  was  out,  and 
before  my  letter  to  him  had  been  delivered,  and 
inquired  of  my  friends,  if  1  was  a  Physician. 
They  answered,  that  I  was  not,  but  an  Ecclesi¬ 
astic.  “Of  what  denomination?”  said  he. 
They  answered,  “a  Presbyterian.”  The  re¬ 
ply  of  the  priest  was  characteristic.  “It  is  no 
matter;  if  he  be  an  enlightened  man,  he  will 
not  fail  to  be  liberal.” 


Commerce. — Enough  has  been  said  with 
respect  to  the  amount  of  exportations.  The 
articles  exported,  besides  sugar,  coffee  and 
tobacco,  are  chiefly  these, —  molasses,  honey, 
wax,  hides,  aguardiente  de  cana,  segars,  and 
tobacco.  In  exchange  for  these,  they  receive 
linen,  cotton  and  silk  goods,  woolens,  earthen 
and  glass  wares,  hard  wares,  naval  stores,  lum¬ 
ber,  groceries,  furniture,  stationary,  &c.  The 
number  of  mercantile  vessels,  which  entered 
the  port  of  Havana,  during  the  last  year,  was 
as  follows: 


From  Spam, 
From  England, 
From  Germany, 


708 

From  Holland, 

19 

274 

From  France, 

18 

96 

From  Denmark, 

15 

34 

From  Sweden, 

4 

Total,  1168 


In  addition  to  these,  14‘J  vessels  of  war  en¬ 
tered  that  port  during  the  same  time. — At 
Matanzas  on  the  7th  of  February  last,  there 
were,  according  to  a  printed  circular  of  a  re¬ 
spectable  mercantile  house,  5  ships,  ‘29  brigs, 
and  10  schooners,  consisting  ot  6,800  tons  bur¬ 
then,  all  from  the  United  States! 

Intercourse  between  different  parts  of  the 
island.—  The  law  requires  every  man,  going 
from  one  part  of  the  island  to  another,  to  ob¬ 
tain  a  passport,  which,  however,  costs  nothing. 
Between  the  Havana  and  Matanzas,  1  re¬ 
marked  that  there  was  considerable  inter- 
I  course.  But  between  these  places  and  Santi- 
1  ago  de  Cuba,  I  should  think  there  was  com¬ 
paratively  little. 

The  roads  are  good,  or  bad,  according  to 
!  the  nature  of  the  ground,  and  the  season  of  the 
year.  Art  and  labor  have  done  very  little  for 
i  them.  They  originated  from  paths  through 
the  wilderness,  and  have  been  brought  into 
j  their  present  state  simply  by  long  use.  On 
1  the  plains,  they  are  good  in  the  dry  season, 
but  almost  impassable  during  the  rains,  Over 
the  high  lands,  they  are  often  sufficiently 
rough. 

The  carriage  in  common  use,  is  called  a 
volante.  It  has  a  general  resemblance  to  our 
chaise,  or  gig,  and  is  drawn  in  the  same  man¬ 
ner.  The  diameter  of  the  wheels  is  nearly 
I  six  feet.  The  body  hangs  lower  than  the 
centre  of  the  wheel,  divides  its  weight  about 
j  equally  between  the  wheels  and  the  animal, 

!  and  does  not  rest  upon  springs.  The  shafts 
;  are  long.  These  carriages  are  rarely  upset, 

;  and  are  the  easiest  I  ever  rode  in.  The  dri- 
i  ver  sits  upon  the  animal  Sometimes  two 
1  horses,  or  mules,  are  attached,  and,  when  the 
case  demands  it,  three;  but  all  of  them  are 
abreast.  The  baggage  is  carried  in  a  seron, 
or  large  frail,  by  a  negro  on  horseback.  The 
most  frequent  mode  of  travelling,  is  on  the 
fine  ambling  horses  of  the  country. 

Of  late,  a  stean. -boat  has  passed  every  week 
between  the  Havana  and  Matanzas.  The 
cost  of  a  passage  is  12  dollars.  Another  boat 
is  contemplated  between  Matanzas  and  the 
:  Embarcadero  at  the  head  of  the  Canimar 
j  River,  for  the  better  conveyance  of  produce. 
There  are  no  houses  on  the  road,  corres¬ 
ponding  with  our  inns,  or  hotels.  The  trav¬ 
eller  makes  his  calculations  to  lodge  with 
planters  on  the  way.  But,  after  passing  Villa 
Clara,  (about  160  miles  E.  of  Matanzas,)  he 
must  forego,  in  great  measure,  this  privilege. 
At  the  Havana  and  Matanzas  there  are 
boarding-houses,  at  which  the  expense  for 
food  and  lodging  is  from  two  dollars  to  two 
and  a  half  per  day. 

|  The  fashion  of  the  country  is  to  travel  arra- 
i  ed.  No  countryman  would  ride  a  league 
without  his  machete,  or  long  sword.  This 
must  be  owing  less  to  fear,  than  to  ancient 
custom,  from  which  a  Spaniard  is  not  apt  to 
depart.  The  higher  classes  and  foreigners 
arm  ihemselves  with  pistols:  audit  is  prudent 
for  all  travellers  not  to  be  without  at  least  a 
pair  of  holsters. 

Attention  to  Literature ,  &c.  —  As  I  com¬ 
menced  with  the  resolution  of  giving  the  re¬ 
sults  of  my  personal  inquiries  only,  I  shall  be 
brief  under  this  head. 


10 


Remarks  on  the  Island  of  Cuba. 


It  is  not  the  fault,  but  the  misfortune,  of  the 
inhabitants,  that  education  among  them  is  in 
a  low  condition.  1’wo  or  three  years  since, 
they  established  schools  by  law  in  all  the  prin¬ 
cipal  villages,  and  ordained  that  every  person, 
who,  after  certain  years,  could  not  read  and 
write,  should  be  deprived  of  the  privileges  of 
citizens.  But  the  overthrow  of  the  Constitu¬ 
tion  was  fatal  to  all  such  attempts.  A  large 
proportion  ofthe  Creoles  in  the  interior  were 
represented  to  me  as  unable  to  read.  Female 
education  is  specially  neglected.  The  reading 
population  of  the  island  cannot  therefore  be  [ 
great.  Hence  the  price  of  books  is  nearly 
400  per  cent,  greater  there,  than  it  is  in  the 
United  Stales;  though  I  found  several  well 
furnished  bookseller’s  shops  in  the  Havana.  In 
that  city,  also,  two  small  daily  papers  are  pub¬ 
lished.  In  Matanzas  there  is  one. 

A  college,  connected  with  the  Cathedral, 
has,  under  the  auspices  of  the  Bishop  of  Ha¬ 
vana,  become  a  valuable  institution; — far  more 
valuable,  I  apprehend,  than  the  “Most  Illus¬ 
trious  Royal  and  Pontifical  University,”  in 
the  convent  of  St.  Domingo.  The  College 
was  instituted  in  1774,  and  the  University  in 
1728  l  am  informed  that  the  principal  of 
the  former,  Don  Justo  Maria  Velez,  trav¬ 
elled  in  this  country  not  long  since.  A  school 
for  drawing  and  painting,  and,  also,  lectures 
on  political  economy,  were  both  established, 
by  the  Royal  Patriotic  Society,  in  1818.  Vac¬ 
cine  Committees  were,  moreover,  instituted 
by  the  same  society  in  1804,  whose  duty  it  is 
to  preserve  and  distribute  the  virus.  The 
Society  itself  v'as  formed  in  1793 

There  are  about  ‘200  lawyers  in  the  Havana, 
and  nearly  300  physicians.  This  latter  num¬ 
ber  does  not  include  the  barbers,  whose  of¬ 
ficial  duty  it  is,  nevertheless,  to  bleed  and  pull 
teeth  Of  supernumerary  priests,  there  did 
not  appear  to  be  many.  I  have  reason  to  be¬ 
lieve,  that  in  each  of  these  professions  are 
learned  men. 

Manners,  Customs ,  and  General  Charac¬ 
ter. — The  inhabitants  of  Cuba  are  generally 
good-looking,  cheerful  and  polite.  Even  the 
common  class  have  scarcely  any  thing  that  is 
coarse  and  vulgar.  Hospitality  is  among  their 
cardinal  virtues.  If  they'  have  but  a  little, 
they  will  offer  you  a  part  of  that.  They  dis¬ 
cover  a  great  fondness  for  the  amusements  of 
cards,  dancing,  cock-fighting,  and  the  theatre. 
The  women  shew  much  kindness  to  sick 
strangers. 

Children  are  respectful  and  attentive,  and 
parents  are  indulgent.  With  one  custom  I 
was  mm  h  pleased  At  night,  before  retiring 
to  rest,  the  child  kisses  the  hand  ofthe  father, 
and  receives  from  him  a  blessing  in  these 
words, —  Dens  te  haga  buen  santo,  “God 
make  thee  a  good  saint.”  In  one  instance  1 
saw  children,  who  seemed  to  be  tenderly  be¬ 
loved,  kiss  their  father’s  hand,  as  they'  rose 
from  the  dining  table.  Females  go  into  soci¬ 
ety'  at  an  early  age:  indeed  their  mothers  sel¬ 
dom  go  any  where  without  them.  They  also 
marry  young.  I  saw  one  married  lady  of  only 
13  years  of  age,  and  her  case  was  not  spoken 
of  as  singular.  Children  are  always  named 
after  some  one  in  the  calendar  of  saints.  My 
name  not  happening  to  be  there,  a  Spanish 


friend,  on  giving  me  a  letter  cf  introduction 
to  a  Catholic  gentleman,  kindly  provided  me 
with  another  that  was  more  orthodox,  in  order 
to  ensure  me  a  more  welcome  reception. 

I  understood  that  the  death  of  young  chil¬ 
dren  was  regarded  rather  as  a  matter  of  joy, 
than  of  grief,  because  they  are  supposed  to 
have  had  a  removal  to  a  better  world,  without 
the  contaminations  and  vexations,  which  are 
inseparable  from  a  long  residence  here. 
Hence,  at  their  funerals,  their  friends  rejoice; 
though,  human  nature  being  every  where 
substantially  the  same,  parents  can  hardly 
fail  to  grieve  in  secret. 

Those,  who  stand  as  the  god  parents  of 
children,  are  so  far  their  guardians,  that,  if 
parents  neglect,  or  abuse  their  children,  the 
godparents  can  take  measures  to  secure  them 
proper  usage  Custom,  also,  allows  a  run¬ 
away  slave  to  choose  a  padrino,  or  godfather, 
who  intercedes  for  his  pardon,  and  ensures 
his  future  good  behavior.  Padrinos,  in  this 
case,  are  often  the  parish  priests.  Upon  such 
interference,  the  slave  escapes  punishment. 

If  a  man  abuses  his  wife,  she  is  removed 
from  his  house,  upon  complaint  being  made 
to  the  Alcalde ,  or  magistrate,  and  is  placed  in 
some  respectable  family  where  she  is  kept  at 
the  expense  of  the  husband. 

The  dead  are  buried  w  ithout  coffins.  They 
are  borne  to  the  grave  in  what  is  culled  a 
shell,  which  is  reserved  for  future  use.  The 
testator  sometimes  describes,  in  his  will,  the 
dress,  in  which  he  would  be  buried.  At  the 
Ha  vana,  quick-lime  is  thrown  upon  the  body 
to  consume  the  flesh.  In  some  districts  of 
the  country,  interments  are  very  carelessly' 
performed. 

The  churches  being  opened  at  a  very  early 
hour  in  tiie  morning,  the  more  zealous  Cath¬ 
olics  go  to  mass  as  their  first  business.  Many 
take  the  first  hours  of  daylight  to  walk  or  ride. 
Breakfast  is  served  from  8  to  10,  and  is  a 
more  substantial  meal,  than  is  common  with 
us.  The  usual  hour  for  dining  is  from  3  to 
5,  after  which  it  is  customary  to  indulge  in 
a  siesta,  or  short  sleep.  While  the  sun  is 
setting,  and  while  the  brief  twilight  lasts,  the 
ladies,  dressed  in  good  style,  ride  on  the 
Paseo,  at  the  Havana — about  the  city,  at 
Matanzas — and  over  the  plantations,  in  the 
country.  This  is  the  hour  for  going  on 
’Change,  and  the  Mole  at  the  Havana  is  then 
thronged  with  gentlemen.  The  inhabitants 
usually  retire  to  rest  at  an  early  hour. 

Trial  by  jury  is  not  enjoyed  on  the  island; 
and  I  heard  frequent  and  loud  complaints 
made  of  the  want  of  sound  principle  in  the 
judges.  There  are  no  oral  pleadings  in  the 
courts.  Every  thing  is  done  by  writing.  Law¬ 
suits  are  frequent,  tedious,  and  expensive. 

When  a  man  becomes  insolvent,  instead  of 
seizing  on  his  property,  and  dividing  it  among 
the  creditors,  a  suitable  time  is  commonly 
given  him,  in  which  to  pay  his  debts;  during 
which  time  his  crops  are  embargoed,  so  mucii 
only  being  allowed  the  debtor,  ns  will  suffice 
to  conduct  the  plantation. 

Protestants,  as  such,  cannot  hold  real  es¬ 
tate  on  the  island.  Certificates  of  being  good 
Catholics  must  first  lie  obtained  from  some 
priest.  These  certificates,  however,  money 
will  pretty  easily  procure. 


11 


Remarks  on  the  Island  of  Cuba. 


The  Catholic  religion  is  the  only  one  toler¬ 
ated.  I  suppose  a  congregation  of  Protestants, 
worshipping  according  to  Protestant  forms, 
would  be  held  an  illegal  assembly.  I  nderthe 
constitutional  government,  numerous  copies 
of  the  Scriptures,  sentfrom  the  United  States, 
Great  Britain  and  Holland,  were  sold  or  given 
away;  and  I  am  inclined  to  the  belief  that,  by 
prudent  management,  a  few  might  be  dispos¬ 
ed  of  now:  though  it  may  be  doubted  whether 
they  would  pass  the  Custom  House. 

The  opening  of  Cuba  to  free  commerce  has 
occasioned  considerable  changes  in  the  man¬ 
ners,  customs,  and  condition  of  the  inhabitants. 
They  have  since  advanced  rapidly  on  the  scale 
of  human  life.  How  could  they  make  progress 
before.  Their  houses  and  tables,  especially  in 
the  interior,  are  much  better  furnished  1 
dare  not  state  how  deficient  they  were  in  this 
respect  15  years  ago,  lest  I  may  have  been 
misinformed,  or  should  not  gain  full  credence. 
No  small  progress  has  been  made  in  liberal 
views  and  feelings,  with  respect  to  other  re¬ 
ligious  denominations;  and  the  attachment  of 
the  people  at  large  to  the  forms  and  ceremo¬ 
nies  of  the  Catholic  church  has  been  consid¬ 
erably  moderated.  1  know  that  much  of  this 
is  owing  to  the  prevalence  of  an  infidel  skep¬ 
ticism,  or,  as  I  heard  a  good  Padre  call  it, 
while  mourning  over  the  evil,  ‘‘the  new  phi¬ 
losophy:”  but  something  is  to  be  attributed  to 
an  enlargement  of  views,  consequent  upon  an 
intercourse  with  the  world;  and  something,  it 
may  he  presumed,  to  the  influence  of  the 
Scriptures,  which  have  been  circulated. 

It  cannot  be  said,  however,  that  morals 
have  improved:  neither  am  1  aware,  that  they 
have  materially  changed  for  the  worse.  1 
enter  with  diffidence  on  this  part  of  the  sub¬ 
ject,  knowing  that  a  traveller,  but  imperfect¬ 
ly  acquainted  with  the  language  of  a  people, 
residing  but  a  little  while  in  a  place,  and  pass¬ 
ing  as  it  were  over  the  surface  of  society,  is 
more  likely  to  see  the  vices,  than  the  virtues 
of  the  community;  and  of  course  is  in  danger 
of  misapprehension.  How  great  this  danger 
is,  all  must  have  felt,  who  have  been  familiar 
with  the  accounts,  which  English  travellers 
have  given  of  the  United  States  At  the 
same  time,  the  moral  and  religious  character 
of  a  people  is  not  to  be  passed  in  silence. 

There  are  several  causes,  which  operate  un¬ 
favorably  on  the  morals  of  the  inhabitants  of 
Cuba.  The  principal  are  these: — the  ease, 
with  which  absolution  is  obtained,  by  confess¬ 
ing  sin,  without  forsaking  it — the  want  of  pub¬ 
lic  preaching — the  disregard  of  the  Sabbath —  ! 


|  and  the  loose  character  of  the  clergy,  as  a 
body.  To  these  might  be  added,  the  low 
standard  of  public  opinion,  with  respect  to 
moral  character; — low,  I  mean,  n  hen  com¬ 
pared  with  its  standard  in  New  England. 

The  first  must  operate  most  powerfully  on 
the  ignorant  and  credulous,  going  far  to  set 
them  free  from  the  restraints  of  conscience, 
and  the  salutary  corrections  of  remorse;  and 
tiius  breaking  down  one  of  the  strongest  bar¬ 
riers,  which  \  I  mighty  God  has  opposed  to 
vice — 1'he  preachmg  of  the  Gospel,  another 
divinely  appointed  means  of  national  virtue, 
is  seldom  heard  on  the  island.  I  could  not 
learn,  that  more  than  one  or  two  sermons  are 
preached  in  a  year. — The  observance  of  holy 
time  in  a  holy  manner,  another  ordinance  of 
heaven  designed  for  the  same  purpose,  is  also 
disregarded.  Mass  is  said  in  the  morning  of 
the  Sabbath,  after  which  the  churches  are 
shut  for  the  day.  The  markets  are  held  as 
usual.  Counting-houses  are  open.  The  places 
of  amusement  are  unusually  frequented. 
“Sunday,”  said  a  respectable  Catholic  to  me, 
— “Sunday  we  regard  as  a  day  for  enjoy  ing 
one’s  self.” — I  have  spoken  favorably  of  two 
Catholic  priests,  with  whom  I  became  ac¬ 
quainted;*  and  1  doubt  not  there  are  others 
quite  as  estimable.  But  l  have  painful  rea¬ 
son  to  believe,  that  the  Catholic  clergy,  as  a 
body,  are  exceedingly  corrupt,  and  exert  an 
influence,  as  pernicious  as  it  is  extensive,  on 
the  public  morals. — The  standard  of  public 
J  opinion  with  respect  to  moral  conduct,  is, 
perhaps,  rather  an  effect,  than  a  cause:  yet 
it  cannot  be  doubted,  that  the  moral  character 
of  every  man  is  more  or  less  influenced  by  a 
regard  to  public  opinion.  In  this  point 
of  view,  public  opinion  becomes  a  powerful 
agent.  Were  this  agent  as  it  should  be  in 
Cuba,  the  clergy  (I  of  course  speak  of  the  ir¬ 
religious  portion,)  would  be  obliged  to  reform, 
or  retire  from  (he  sacred  office. 

I  close  these  remarks — already,  I  fear,  too 
much  prolonged — by  expressing  my  earnest 
desire,  that  a  curiosity  may  be  excited  in  our 
community  to  know  more,  than  we  have 
I  hitherto  known,  of  the  character  and  circum¬ 
stances  of  our  Catholic  neighbors  at  the  South. 
To  us,  as  a  Protestant  people,  it  is  a  subject 
of  very  serious  interest,  that  no  less  than  six 
empires,  all  holding  the  Catholic  Faith, 
— saying  nothing  of  islands  in  the  West 
Indies, — are  growing  up  in  the  same  hemi¬ 
sphere  with  ourselves! 


See  p.  9. 


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